James Ivory
Maurice

THE REVIEW

The first time I saw it, it almost made me feel sick because of the sensation of the finger twisting in the wound it caused me. Maurice (James Wilby) and Clive (Hugh Grant) love each other platonically, a schoolmate of theirs is expelled for homosexual acts and his fate is sealed by infamy (we are in England in 1909). Clive gets scared and quickly marries a girl, Maurice first suffers like a dog, then meets Alec (Rupert Graves), a member of Clive's household staff, and the two fall in love. In a final meeting with Clive, Maurice informs him of his romantic relationship and then disappears forever from his life, leaving Clive consumed with regret. A gay melodrama directed by James Ivory in 1987 and written by E.M. Forster in 1917, published posthumously in 1971. Highly relevant, especially in exploring the psychological profiles of the characters, which are not at all trivial, and in the meticulous analysis and reconstruction of the society of the time. I don't know if a film like this, albeit so well-packaged, can appeal to or at least evoke any interest for heterosexuals, it would be nice to know! If not, there is always the wonderful "A Room with a View" by Ivory, which is two years prior to this and will satisfy even the most conservative audience!